Hello! You are not looking at a dangerous-looking rock, you are looking at a dangerous crocodile. Because of our body color, people might get confuse us with rocks. We are Mugger Marsh Crocodiles and yes, we are dangerous. We are called “Magar Mach” in Hindi, you know what that means? It means Water Monster!
We are very interesting reptiles and read below to know more about us:
- We can hold our breath in water for more than two hours.
- We run funnily; we can reach about 16kmph.
- We are very amazing hunters and apex predators. We wait in a swamp for the prey to come to us. We camouflage so well that the prey doesn’t even notice us. At the right time, we ambush the prey and kill it.
- We are so powerful; we can kill very big animals and our stomach is so acidic that we can digest any type of food.
- Do you know that we are one of the very few animals in the world that can use tools? We place and balance sticks and small branches on our heads to lure birds.
- We have a dominant male in our group. You can easily identify them. Male has a very large body compared to others. That’s because it eats most of the food. In zoos, due to zookeepers, food is distributed properly which makes it difficult to identify.
- We are long and the longest one of our species measure 5.63m.
- We have a powerful bite force (2500 psi), no prey can escape from us!
SOME QUICK FACTS:
Our Scientific Name: Crocodylus Palustris.
Identification: Large crocodiles with big snouts and dull yellowish-brown colored body.
Our Habitat: Freshwater rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, reservoirs, hill streams and man-made tanks.
Our Range:
Our Food Habits: Carnivorous, various types of animals from big to small.
Our Breeding Period: February to April.
Number of eggs laid: 10-28 eggs.
Our Incubation period: 55-75 days.
Our Lifespan: wild – 28.4 years, activity – 31.5 years.
IUCN red list status: Vulnerable.
CITES: Appendix I
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule I
COMPLETE DETAILS FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
We are one of the ferocious reptiles. Let us tell you about our species.
We are scientifically called as Crocodylus Palustris.
How We Look:
We are smaller than a saltwater crocodile and are a medium sized species. We are a lizard- like reptile with very tough skin, short limbs, a broad snout (broadest of any crocodile) and an elongated tail.
Our jaws are very muscular and have a powerful bite force. Our tough skin acts like a heavy armour. An adult is dark grey or brown in color whereas the young one is tan colored. The head to tail length of us is about 3m-5m with females being a little smaller.
Both males and females weigh around 40 kg -200 kg with females being a little less.
We Are Found In:
We prefer to live in freshwater habitats including freshwater rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, reservoirs, hill streams and man-made tanks.
Worldwide, we are mostly found in the Indian subcontinent including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as well as Iran. However, in Sri Lanka, we are only present in protected areas and in Bangladesh we are extinct in the wild. In India, we are seen in 16 out of 29 states.
We are also extinct in Myanmar and Bhutan.
What We Eat:
We are ferocious carnivores and eat a high amount of meat. Our regular diet includes fish, snakes, turtles, birds, and mammals like monkeys, squirrels, chital, and others.
Large ones might also attack and prey on large animals like deer, sambar, cattle animals and water buffaloes. We are ambush hunters and wait for the prey to come to the water we live in.
We attack with our strong snout and drags the prey into the water, drowns the prey and devours it. We also hunt in the night, killing and eating big predators as well. We often steal the prey of other predators in the night.
Our Reproduction:
We have a properly constructed social life. The biggest of us is the dominant head and often takes away huge chunks of prey from other small muggers. Only this large one mates with the females in the group and doesn’t allow other small crocodiles to mate.
Mating takes place in the time between February and April where there is an abundance of water and food. A female mugger’s incubation period is about 55-75 days and generally lay about 10-48 eggs at a time in a hole dug in the sand.
The temperature during incubation plays a major role in determining the sex of the offspring. When these eggs hatch the young ones are taken into the water by the mother or sometimes even by the father.
Female reaches sexual maturity when it is 6 years of age and about 1.7m-2m in length, for a male it is 10 years of age and about 2.5m of length. Our lifespan in the wild is 28.4 years and in captivity, it is 31.5 years.
More About Us:
We are slow animals on land but have tremendous short bursts to ambush our prey.
On land, we can reach about 13 kmph whereas in the water we can reach up to 16 kmph to 19 kmph.
Our ambush techniques to hunt prey are remarkable.
Since, we are semi-aquatic, while hunting, we can hold our breath up to 2 hours.
We are also seen using tools like balancing sticks and branches on our head to lure birds which are looking for nesting.
We have a highly acidic stomach which allows us to digest any kinds of meat.
Our Conservation:
As per the IUCN, we are considered “vulnerable” worldwide and are protected under schedule 1 of the Indian wildlife protection act, 1972 in India. In the last 75 years, our population had a 30% decline.
This decline is due to threats like habitat destruction and illegal poaching for the skin. However, acts taken by the government reduced these activities and our populations have recovered and are stable.
Overall, the total population of us is about 8700 individuals throughout the world and in India, there are about 4300 individuals including me.
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Crocodilia
Family: Crocodylinae
Genus: Crocodylus
Species: C.palustris
